Display rack



United States Patent Office 3,372,812 Patented Mar. 12, 1968 3,372,812 DIEPLAY RACK Clarence W. Parcels, Racine, Wis, assignor to S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Racine, Wis. Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,580 4 Claims. (Ci. 211--49) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A unitary merchandise display tray for displaying fiat, circular articles is described. The tray comprises a body having a plurality of semicircular troughs extending from end to end thereof for receiving articles to be displayed, end portions at each end of the body and front and rear feet. The body and ends are of shallow depth to permit the viewing of the articles without necessitating their removal from the tray. The feet are concave to complement the curvature of the articles being displayed.

This invention relates in general to merchandise display devices and more particularly to improved recep tacles adapted to be tiered or stacked when filled with a plurality of articles and disposed upon a counter, shelf, or the like. The articles are readily available for selection and removal by the consumer, as is a common arrangement in selfservice stores.

Flat, circular tins of the type used for packaging shoe polish, hard candies, and the like, while being highly desirable in that they take up only limited storage space, possess shortcomings in that such containers are difiicult to display without risk of relatively large numbers of the articles being knocked down accidentally by a customer while making a selection, or when otherwise coming into contact with the display. To overcome the aforesaid shortcomings, display devices have been suggested, for example, of the type shown and described in US. Patents Nos. 2,635,744 and 2,670,853. However, such displays are relatively bulky and/or are not easily accessible for removal of the product. Moreover, the product being sold is not displayed advantageously to the consumer. Additionally, the displays, to permit practical, economical construction, must contain a relatively large number of articles. Thus, when only partially filled, the display device takes up excessive shelf space.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a unitary merchandise display tray which is light in weight, compact, permits stacking, and which can be conveniently and economical y made to hold a relatively few articles.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a unitary merchandise display tray having a plurality of semi-circular trough-like configurations in the bottom of said tray to receive the edges of a flat, circular tin.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a unitary display tray which is light in weight, compact, has a plurality of semi-circular troughs therein for re ceiving the edges of a flat, circular tin, with said troughs periodically having semi-circular, annular grooves to accommodate a lip-like rim on the edge of said tin.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a unitary merchandise display tray which is light in weight, compact, has semi-circular trough-like configurations therein for receiving the edges of a flat, circular tin, and has front and rear feet with the lower surface of said feet having a concave curvature to conform to or complement the curvature of the products in a lower tray.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a unitary merchandise display tray which is light in weight, compact, has at least one semi-circular trough therein to accommodate the edge of a flat, circular article, with or without annular grooves for accommodating a rim or lip of the article being stacked, and with sernicircular feet adapted to conform to the curvature of products in the tray below, said feet having an annular recess to conform to the lip or ridge of the article being stacked.

It is another object of the invention to provide a dis play package comprising a plurality of flat, circular articles in upright position in a unitary merchandise display tray, said tray having means for interlocking with the displayed articles in the tray below when stacked, thereby impeding accidental dislodging of the articles.

These and other objects will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, with particular emphasis being placed upon the drawing.

Briefly, the objects of the present invention are accomplished by constructing a shallow, unitary tray from a plastic or light metal. The tray will have a plurality of transversely spaced, parallel, semi-circular cradle-like troughs for receiving the edge of a plurality of flat, circular tins. The lower surface of the tray will have front and rear feet which are concave, adapted to conform to the curvature of the product stacked in a similar lower tray. Since most flat, circular tins of the type under consideration have a lip or rim at the point where the lid snaps over the container bottom, as a preferred embodiment, the semi-circu1ar troughs of the: tray will have a plurality of annular recesses to receive the aforesaid lip or ridge. The articles in the tray, particularly when the tray is noly partly filled, will have greater stability. Moreover, the feet of the tray, also preferably will have a similar annular recess to accommodate the rim or lip of the product in the tray below. Again, greater stability of the ovcr-all display will be obtained with less possibility of the individual trays being accidentally knocked over. The depth of the tray, while being sufficiently deep to support the containers, i.e., about A1 of the height of the tin being displayed, preferably will not be any more than about one-half the height of the article being stacked to permit the consumer to see the articles being displayed. However, the depth of the tray is not as critical where transparent plastic materials are used in the construction of the tray.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms a material part of the present application, and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the specification:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective top view of the tray;

FIGURE 2 is an end View of the tray of FIGURE 1 filled with the articles being displayed and showing the interlocking of the tray with the articles displayed in a similar lower tray; and

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the tray of FIGURE 1 containing articles being displayed, and again showing the locking of the tray to articles in a lower tray.

More specifically, referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, numeral 1 defines the semi-circular, itroughlike compartments of the tray. As seen from the drawing, the troughs make up the bottom and the side portions. 1.2 and 1.2a designate the ends of the tray, with element 113 constituting a fiat support ridge. The curved feet are designated 1.4. As is apparent, particularly referring to FIGURES l and 2, the feet have a concave lower surface to conform with the article in the tray below. Annular recesses 1.4a in the feet serve to interlock the tray to the stacked products. Annular recesses 1.1 are to receive a lip or rim on the product being displayed, and serve to stabilize the display. Depending upon the position of the lip or rim on the container edge, it may be desirable to position the feet of the tray in different locations. Thus, referring specifically to FIGURES 2 and 3, the article being displayed 2, fits into the tray with ridge 2.1 of

the container corresponding to the annular recesses 1.1. The annular recesses 1.4a in the front feet of the tray, as most clearly seen in FIGURE 3, interlock with the lip or ridge 2.1 of container 2. However, the rear feet do not interlock. By moving the rear feet back to the end of the tray, recesses 1.4a will also interlock.

Although the drawing discloses a tray having only two semi-circular troughs, as will be apparent, the tray can be enlarged to possess more than the two troughs. Such trays can have the advantage of having greater stability. Furthermore, it is possible to have a series of recesses in the troughs of the tray to accommodate the position of the lips of any flat, circular tin. For example, the total trough of the tray can be of corrugated design.

The tray can, as indicated hereinbefore, be constructed from many materials including light-weight metals and plastics. However, because of the economic considerations, the tray is preferably constructed from a plastic such as polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, tor the like. Preferably the container will be clear or substantially clear to permit the consumer to view the product being displayed.

As is apparent, the novel tray is extremely simple in construction and can be conveniently made, employing simple molding operations. The interlocking of the flat, circular tin-s in the tray, and the fitting of the concaved surface of the feet of the tray to the product in the tray below, provides an unexpectedly high degree of rigidity to the entire merchandise display. Moreover, the annular recesses in the curvature of the feet further decrease the likelihood of the display being accidentally knocked over. The fact that the tray is shallow leaves most of the articles being displayed in view of the consumer. The design of the tray provides a convenient, practical, and inexpensive means of displaying a flat, circular product such as shoe polish.

As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, many modifications to the present design are possible in view of the present disclosure. Such modifications fall within the scope of the present invention, which is only restricted by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A unitary merchandise display tray adapted to be stacked and displaying thin, cylindrical articles, each of said articles comprising an outer cylindrical body portion having a liplike rim portion outstanding from said outer cylindrical body portion, said display tray comprising end portions and a body portion having a plurality of .arcuate troughs extending from end to end thereof for receiving said cylindrical articles, said end portions being of shallow depth, front and rear feet on said body portion, the lower surface of said feet having a concave curvature to complement the convex curvature of said ithin, cylindrical articles contained in a lower tray.

2. The tray of claim 11 wherein the lower surface of each of said feet has an annular recess .to conform to the liplike rim on said cylindrical articles.

3. A display package comprising a plurality of unitary display trays each adapted to be stacked for displaying a plurality of thin, cylindrical articles, each article comprising an outer cylindrical body portion, said display tray comprising end portions and a body portion having a plurality of arcuate troughs extending from end to end thereof for receiving said cylindrical articles, said end portions being of shallow depth, front and rear feet on said body portion, the lower surface of said feet having a concave curvature, and said plurality of thin, cylindrical articles positioned in said troughs of said trays, the concave curvature of said feet of said trays complementing the convex curvature of said thin, cylindrical articles contained in a lower tray.

4. A display package comprising a plurality of unitary display trays adapted to be stacked for displaying a plurali-ty of thin, cylindrical articles each comprising an outer cylindrical body portion having a lipli'ke rim portion outstanding from said outer cylindrical body portion, said display tray comprising end portions and a body portion having a plurality of arcuate troughs extending from end to end thereof for receiving said cylindrical articles, said end portions being of shallow depth, and front and rear feet on said body portion, the lower surface of said feet having a concave curvature, and said plurality of said thin, cylindrical articles each comprising an outer cylindrical body portion having a liplike rim portion outstanding from said outer cylindrical body portion positioned in said troughs of said trays with the concave curvature of said feet of said trays complementing the convex curvature of said cylindrical articles contained in a lower tray.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 477,328 6/ 1 892- Israel 31245 2,257,891 10/1941 Stokes 21l49 3,272,371 9/1966 Weiner.

372,976 11/1887 Heilman 2l4--372 X 2,334,336 11/1943 Lathrop 2140.5 2,812,190 11/1957 Clifton 214-372 XR 3,019,916 2/1962 Malcher l0855 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,111,088 10/1955 France.

8,633 1907 Great Britain. 83,744 10/1957 Denmark. 19,039 1892 Great Britain.

1,188,774 12/1957 France.

8,429 1899 Great Britain. 1,103,243 3/ 1961 Germany.

IROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

OHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

A. FRANKEL, Assistant Examiner. 

